Anyone read this article about Gavaskar and Shastri?

[Jono]

Ramachandra Guha: The strange silence of Gavaskar and Shastri | Opinion | Cricinfo Magazine | ESPN Cricinfo

Their silence during the elections of their parent association confirmed, for me, the pusillanimity of the two. The recent revelations that they are paid propagandists of the Board of Control for Cricket in India have confirmed, for many other fans, the lack of principle in Gavaskar and Shastri. They feel betrayed by the disclosure that commentators they trusted to give a fair and credible account of the game were under contract to speak in His Master's Voice alone.

...

Gavaskar has answered the charge that he is a spokesman for the board by claiming that his newspaper columns have sometimes been critical of its policies. However, in hundreds of hours of hearing Shastri and Gavaskar speak on television, I cannot recall them ever being critical in any way of the BCCI. Crucially, in both print and on air I have never heard either commentator ever do anything but praise the Indian Premier League in lavish terms. Neither has commented on the shady financial underpinnings of the league, neither has dared point out that the ownership of the Chennai Super Kings by the board's secretary is legally and morally indefensible

...

One would expect Gavaskar and Shastri, as active, influential, full-time commentators on the game, to make these connections between the board's obsession with the IPL and the poor performance of the Indian team in England. That they have stayed silent suggests that their commitment to cricket is not as dispassionate as it perhaps should be.

The cynic would say that these criticisms are beside the point, that Gavaskar and Shastri are merely doing a job. But in this fan, the sense of disappointment remains. Having watched Gavaskar and Shastri win and save Test matches for India, I ask: why must they be so blind to the ways in which the IPL is bad for Test cricket in India? Having watched them, time and again, help Mumbai defeat my own state, Karnataka, I wonder: why could they not support their former team-mate in the MCA elections against a cricket-illiterate politician?

Pretty huge attack.

 

[four_or_six]

Yeah, I read that and it's really brutal. I have to admit i don't know anything about the author - how much of a heavyweight is he?

 

[NasserFan207]

I was surprised cricinfo posted it.

Can any Indian posters commentate on some of the accusations?

 

[Jono]

I'm not sure myself. Whatever people's opinions on Shastri and Gavaskar, they are two massive names in Indian cricket, let alone Indian cricket commentary. I was unaware about the allegations regarding them being paid by the BCCI as I haven't been able to track of cricket issues over the last couple of months. Is there an article where this was revealed? Has this issue been discussed on CW?

 

[Top_Cat]

Awful article. Seeing a lot of conjecture and leaps of logic but not much in the way of evidence. The crux of the article seems to be here;

Surely many MCA members would have voted the other way if Gavaskar and Shastri had publicly endorsed Vengsarkar?

.....and, by bringing up the BCCI, he's essentially accusing Ravi/Sunil of being complicit in a local pollie being elected (elected, mind you, not appointed) over Vengsarkar. So is he then saying the BCCI had influence here in getting Deshmukh elected, perhaps paid off all the MCA voting members and maybe Ravi/Sunil stayed silent because they're on the payroll too? Maybe the state government had a say in this too, desperate for said pollie to save his public image by being elected to the head of a local sporting body, so they forced the BCCI to tow the line? Honestly, I've no idea what the author is really trying to imply here.

The author is a genuine insider who has a lot of info he can't publish or he's a complete outsider, has put 2 + 2 together and gotten "Conspiracy!" Either way, I'm a bit shocked it got published because aside from the above, it has very little wider interest. I'd be shocked if anyone outside Mumbai, Indian or not, gave a crap about the machinations of a club cricket board election.

 

[Jacknife]

Reading this article reminded me of this TV program that had been on Indian tv channel NDTV called, What's wrong with Team India?
Gavaskar was on that, along with various other former players, BCCI former members etc and when they were getting down to all the causes and problems that have caused the sub standard performance of the Indian team, he wouldn't hear of any of the criticism that was being thrown the IPL's way, saying it was silly to even bring it up, he also thought that even with better preparation it wouldn't have made any difference.
At the time I thought he was being unusually gracious in complimenting England and how he thought that no matter how much planning, preparation and lack of IPL would have stopped the England juggernaut, the article has made me think again.

The link to watch the program is below.
What's wrong with Team India? | VIDEOS | CRICKET | NDTVSports.com

 

[smash84]

This was brewing for a while actually

Conflict of interest charge on Sunny, Shastri frivolous, says BCCI | Sport | DAWN.COM

but never thought it would make cricinfo

 

[ankitj]

Yeah, I read that and it's really brutal. I have to admit i don't know anything about the author - how much of a heavyweight is he?

I don't know a great deal either, but what I know is that he is a respected historian of Indian politics (especially post independence) and Cricket in general. I usually like reading/hearing him whenever I can. He was also on the panel to select Cricinfo's all time XI and also picked this nice guys' XI.

 

[GIMH]

I'm not sure myself. Whatever people's opinions on Shastri and Gavaskar, they are two massive names in Indian cricket, let alone Indian cricket commentary. I was unaware about the allegations regarding them being paid by the BCCI as I haven't been able to track of cricket issues over the last couple of months. Is there an article where this was revealed? Has this issue been discussed on CW?

Yeah it was brought up in the Hussain-Shastri thread. I have to admit I was surprised there wasn't more reaction to it.

 

[Bun]

He is Indian cricket's CLR James. Love reading the fellow. This one however rather scathing.

 

[ankitj]

While I can't comment on Guha's points about not supporting Vengsarkar actively because I hardly follow the politics of cricket (who wins which elections at what levels is something I never really care about), I do agree with the lack of criticism of IPL in face of this embarrassing performance in England. Not just Gavaskar and Shastri, but even the panel discussions on TV news channels have not directly attacked IPL for the lack of fitness and preparation. I really wish that all who have any voice in matters of cricketer stop bending backwards to IPL administrators.

 

[Burgey]

This was brewing for a while actually

Conflict of interest charge on Sunny, Shastri frivolous, says BCCI | Sport | DAWN.COM

but never thought it would make cricinfo

Why do you say that mate?

I don't really read Cricinfo articles, only go there for scores and to look at statsguru. If such an allegation is laid on someone by a reputable person, wouldn't they always run it as it affects the game?

 

[smash84]

because usually political machinations inside regional boards do not make it to sites like cricinfo

 

[G.I.Joe]

Re: the MCA elections; there were three primary factions contesting - the Sharad Pawar group, the Vilasrao Deshmukh group and the Vengsarkar group. Sharad Pawar is of course, a Union Minister (?) and the ICC President. Deshmukh is an ex-Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Pawar and Deshmukh hail from two different political parties that form an uneasy ruling coalition in the Maharashtra government, and are generally no more than partners of convenience, politically.

The major reason the two politicians were interested in heading the MCA is the ongoing development plans for the MCA Sports Centre at the Bandra-Kurla Complex area in Mumbai. The tenders for the construction of the Centre there will run into crores of Rupees. That a politician-constructor nexus exists and thrives in the state is an open secret. There's dirty money to be made here for whoever happens to be in charge at the MCA this forthcoming term.

Pawar's candidature for the post of MCA President was disqualified on the basis that being a Union Minister, he is currently based in New Delhi, and not in Mumbai. Rather than fight it out in court (which he wasn't guaranteed to win, anyway), he chose instead to back his rival, Deshmukh's faction, and share the spoils. Vengsarkar, the cricketer, lost out.

Any former cricketer who keeps himself informed of the affairs of the MCA would have been aware of this, and many of them, including Kapil Dev (despite the fact that he has nothing at stake in Mumbai Cricket) came out openly in support of Vengsarkar for the sake of the sport. Gavaskar and Shastri, both Mumbaikars, chose to keep their mouths shut.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Interesting read, and good to get some further background on it from G.I. Joe.

 

[Top_Cat]

Re: the MCA elections; there were three primary factions contesting - the Sharad Pawar group, the Vilasrao Deshmukh group and the Vengsarkar group. Sharad Pawar is of course, a Union Minister (?) and the ICC President. Deshmukh is an ex-Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Pawar and Deshmukh hail from two different political parties that form an uneasy ruling coalition in the Maharashtra government, and are generally no more than partners of convenience, politically.

The major reason the two politicians were interested in heading the MCA is the ongoing development plans for the MCA Sports Centre at the Bandra-Kurla Complex area in Mumbai. The tenders for the construction of the Centre there will run into crores of Rupees. That a politician-constructor nexus exists and thrives in the state is an open secret. There's dirty money to be made here for whoever happens to be in charge at the MCA this forthcoming term.

Pawar's candidature for the post of MCA President was disqualified on the basis that being a Union Minister, he is currently based in New Delhi, and not in Mumbai. Rather than fight it out in court (which he wasn't guaranteed to win, anyway), he chose instead to back his rival, Deshmukh's faction, and share the spoils. Vengsarkar, the cricketer, lost out.

Any former cricketer who keeps himself informed of the affairs of the MCA would have been aware of this, and many of them, including Kapil Dev (despite the fact that he has nothing at stake in Mumbai Cricket) came out openly in support of Vengsarkar for the sake of the sport. Gavaskar and Shastri, both Mumbaikars, chose to keep their mouths shut.

All well and good and that gives some great context to the politics of the situation but the problem for me lies in that the author then hitches his wagon to the 'IPL = bad for Indian Test cricket, mmmkay?' wagon. Instinctively, I find it a long bow to draw as it seems to be more of a politics story than one of cricket and I'm just trying to follow the logic (please feel free to add more because I'm sure I'm missing key bits).

"A % of contract tenders for bazillions of rupees is up for grabs to be kicked back to local politicians so they decide to rig the MCA election."

Newsworthy for sures.

"Former Test cricketers who'd be expected to support the best cricketing candidate, for reasons unknown at present, decide to remain silent and the pollie wins."

Yep fair enough. Maybe Pawar and Deshmukh made a deal to divide up the world and paid off Shastri/Gasvaskar to not back Vensarkar and ensure their bloke was elected? Considering Pawar's current position as ICC President, that would mean he has a vested interest in the IPL being a roaring success. The article doesn't even mention Pawar, though, so it's all conjecture but, if true, would be a big corruption story.

"The focus on the success of the IPL is the reason India have struggled the Test series against England."

Hold the phone.

One can make the fatigue argument for some of the batters or Dhoni but, in general, the lack of success of India in the Test series has been fairly predictable.

- Raina's problems with the short ones has been long-standing. Hit a couple of 50's in the WI, hit one at Lords so his form has been okay, just undone by good bowling
- Sharma was meh in SA, took wickets in the WI but he's been pumped in England which confirms suspicions pre-series that his WI figures flattered him
- Laxman had a few useful scores in South Africa and the WI without kicking on, his form has continued along similar lines.
- Dravid's form in SA was bad, in the WI was excellent and it's been great in England
- Kumar's bowling has been fairly similar in the WI and England
- Harbhajan had a meh tour of South Africa, a meh tour of the WI after a meh IPL and has been even more meh in England
- Sachin was great in SA, missed the WI tour and has been hitting the ball well in England but looks like he's feeling his way a bit, commensurate you'd imagine with coming back after a bit of a break

Couple that with blokes who've apparently got no idea or interest in how to stay fit if they're not playing and some players who didn't take the opportunities they were given. To me, you have many factors pointing at a disaster in the making which were independent of the IPL.

 

[Top_Cat]

Additionally, India have played more Tests in the past year than anyone else. That there are players who are fatigued and others who are clearly unfit would suggest that's more a problem with selection and other behind-the-scenes stuff than a perceived dominance of the IPL. For some, that it exists at all is an axe to grind and, hey presto, a convenient excuse, despite the fact that India were well up against it just to compete in England even with a fully fit list.

 

[G.I.Joe]

All well and good and that gives some great context to the politics of the situation but the problem for me lies in that the author then hitches his wagon to the 'IPL = bad for Indian Test cricket, mmmkay?' wagon. Instinctively, I find it a long bow to draw as it seems to be more of a politics story than one of cricket and I'm just trying to follow the logic (please feel free to add more because I'm sure I'm missing key bits).

"A % of contract tenders for bazillions of rupees is up for grabs to be kicked back to local politicians so they decide to rig the MCA election."

Newsworthy for sures.

"Former Test cricketers who'd be expected to support the best cricketing candidate, for reasons unknown at present, decide to remain silent and the pollie wins."

Yep fair enough. Maybe Pawar and Deshmukh made a deal to divide up the world and paid off Shastri/Gasvaskar to not back Vensarkar and ensure their bloke was elected? Considering Pawar's current position as ICC President, that would mean he has a vested interest in the IPL being a roaring success. The article doesn't even mention Pawar, though, so it's all conjecture but, if true, would be a big corruption story.

"The focus on the success of the IPL is the reason India have struggled the Test series against England."

Hold the phone.

One can make the fatigue argument for some of the batters or Dhoni but, in general, the lack of success of India in the Test series has been fairly predictable.

- Raina's problems with the short ones has been long-standing. Hit a couple of 50's in the WI, hit one at Lords so his form has been okay, just undone by good bowling
- Sharma was meh in SA, took wickets in the WI but he's been pumped in England which confirms suspicions pre-series that his WI figures flattered him
- Laxman had a few useful scores in South Africa and the WI without kicking on, his form has continued along similar lines.
- Dravid's form in SA was bad, in the WI was excellent and it's been great in England
- Kumar's bowling has been fairly similar in the WI and England
- Harbhajan had a meh tour of South Africa, a meh tour of the WI after a meh IPL and has been even more meh in England
- Sachin was great in SA, missed the WI tour and has been hitting the ball well in England but looks like he's feeling his way a bit, commensurate you'd imagine with coming back after a bit of a break

Couple that with blokes who've apparently got no idea or interest in how to stay fit if they're not playing and some players who didn't take the opportunities they were given. To me, you have many factors pointing at a disaster in the making which were independent of the IPL.

I agree with your analysis of the background for India's poor performance in England. Guha's tried to make the IPL fit in as a factor to a greater degree than it should be, as you say. You've certainly managed to make me re-assess my opinion on the same

But I figure that Guha's primary objective here was to bring into question Gavaskar and Shastri's integrity, rather than specifically pinpoint the reasons for India's recent decline. He might have overplayed the significance of the IPL to drive home his point. It's tough to engage in investigative journalism in probing a body as secretive and ruthless as the BCCI. Guha is primarily a cricket historian, and I reckon he's tried to draw conclusions from hearsay, not unlike myself, while also not overstepping his limits and thus insuring himself against a potential libel lawsuit.

 

[honestbharani]

I agree with your analysis of the background for India's poor performance in England. Guha's tried to make the IPL fit in as a factor to a greater degree than it should be, as you say. You've certainly managed to make me re-assess my opinion on the same

But I figure that Guha's primary objective here was to bring into question Gavaskar and Shastri's integrity, rather than specifically pinpoint the reasons for India's recent decline. He might have overplayed the significance of the IPL to drive home his point. It's tough to engage in investigative journalism in probing a body as secretive and ruthless as the BCCI. Guha is primarily a cricket historian, and I reckon he's tried to draw conclusions from hearsay, not unlike myself, while also not overstepping his limits and thus insuring himself against a potential libel lawsuit.

I think the IPL has played more of a part in all this than TC perhaps understands... The issue here is the owners forcing certain "star" players play inspite of injuries and/or the players themselves doing it for the money or whatever... Surely, the BCCI and IPL can be strict in that only the players who are fully fit are playing??? Is it really necessary to risk missing international games just because you are going to draw crowds in the IPL? Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj and Zaheer all probably got themselves worse playing the IPL and that is the point that is muttered around mostly..


I am all for the IPL and it does do somegood, even though the finances of it are all shady.. But it is a very simple solution that we ensure only fully fit players take part in the IPL, so that it doesn't end up costing team India. Fatigue, I agree, is not because of IPL alone as even otherwise India have played more cricket than most. The only other thing I would blame is more warm up games and warm up time for the team when on tours... If it means playing a second string in a few ODIs of a series, so be it, for me...

 

[smash84]

what do you mean by the IPL finances being shady?